Posted on 01/01/2006 5:55:59 AM PST by NYer
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- During his 16 years as theologian of the papal household, Cardinal Georges Cottier was often asked: Why does the pope need a theologian?
Pope John Paul II was a respected theologian and so is Pope Benedict XVI. It's hard to imagine either one of them having enough theological doubts to justify the appointment of a full-time consultant.
But if people imagine the papal theologian sitting around waiting for the pope to pose a question, the reality is quite different, Cardinal Cottier said.
The papal theologian's main task is to vet the many thousands of words prepared by Vatican aides for the pope to speak or publish. He checks for statements of dubious theology and otherwise hazardous phrases that could come back to haunt the pope.
"People have to understand that nowadays the pope is obliged to make so many speeches and send so many messages that he needs a lot of collaborators to prepare them," Cardinal Cottier said. "The theologian of the papal household is charged with reading all these texts and give(s) a theological opinion on them."
Cardinal Cottier, an 83-year-old Swiss Dominican, spoke in an interview in late December, shortly before retiring from his Vatican position. The Vatican announced Dec. 1 the appointment of a 54-year-old fellow Dominican, Father Wojciech Giertych, to replace Cardinal Cottier.
Cardinal Cottier said that given the number of papal speeches, sermons, messages, prayers, telegrams and other documents it would be impossible for the pope to write them all. The cardinal said he worked daily with the Vatican's Secretariat of State, going over the papal texts prepared by others.
"The first thing we look for is harmony of language, because if the sources are different, not only the style but the thought can be different," he said.
The theologian also checks for wording or a phrase that could be misinterpreted or taken out of context, perhaps by the mass media, he said.
A third concern, he said, is to be careful not to make the pope say too much about some topics.
"By this, I mean that when we have a theological issue that is still open to discussion and study, it's not a good thing that the pope pronounce on it too early. Because when the pope speaks with authority, it means the discussion is closed," he said.
For example, Cardinal Cottier noted that the International Theological Commission met recently to discuss the church's teaching on limbo and babies who die without being baptized. Pope Benedict gave a speech to the commission members, but without addressing the substance of the theological discussion.
According to tradition, the role of theologian of the papal household began with St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers, who was believed to have acted as theological adviser to Pope Honorius III in the 13th century.
Dominicans have always held the position, which until 1968 was called "master of the sacred palace." In the past, the job involved giving theology lessons to cardinals and other members of the Roman Curia and screening sermons by guest preachers who came to the Vatican.
For a time, the papal theologian also had to give the imprimatur to books published in Rome -- a task that, thankfully, has been discontinued, Cardinal Cottier said.
The papal theologian is not typically called upon to scrutinize texts that are penned directly by the pope, but he is often among the team of experts that studies drafts of papal encyclicals, sometimes giving advice on structure or phrasing.
For example, Cardinal Cottier said he previewed five or six draft versions of Pope John Paul's 1993 encyclical, "Veritatis Splendor" ("The Splendor of Truth").
The cardinal said the biggest difference between Pope John Paul and his successor is that Pope Benedict personally writes the "important texts" -- the major sermons and speeches, like his lengthy year-end talk to the Roman Curia, which Cardinal Cottier described as "almost an encyclical" on the post-Vatican II church.
Pope Benedict's first real encyclical, titled "Deus Caritas Est" ("God Is Love"), was signed by the pope on Christmas Day and was expected to be released in January, the Vatican said recently.
Cardinal Cottier said that among the many memories he'll take from his years at the Vatican one in particular stands out. Before the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, he headed the theological-historical commission that examined darker chapters of the church's past, including the Inquisition and treatment of Jews.
The commission's work paved the way for the Holy Year "day of forgiveness," which featured a dramatic liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica and an unprecedented apology for the sins of Christians through the ages.
Cardinal Cottier said the liturgy was not only one of the most beautiful moments of the Holy Year, but marked "a decisive moment in the history of the church."
Very interesting, thanks for posting this.
Happy New Year, NYer!
"People have to understand that nowadays the pope is obliged to make so many speeches and send so many messages that he needs a lot of collaborators to prepare them," Cardinal Cottier said. "The theologian of the papal household is charged with reading all these texts and give(s) a theological opinion on them."
....The papal theologian is not typically called upon to scrutinize texts that are penned directly by the pope, but he is often among the team of experts that studies drafts of papal encyclicals, sometimes giving advice on structure or phrasing.
But...but...but...the Pope is supposed to be infallible in matters of theology. Why does he need a court theologian to tell him when doctrinal information is in error, what the Holy See already can detect that for himself?
I'll give 'er a try.
Papal infallibility does not excuse the Pope from having what he's going to say examined by other people. First, the Pope is not infallible whenever he says anything, but only when he "speaks EX CATHEDRA, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church" (from the definition of papal infallibility at the First Vatican Council). Second, one way that the Holy Spirit preserves him from error in such definitions could certainly by influencing him to have his words reviewed by others.
For example, Pope Bl. Pius IX, under whom the infallibility of the Pope was formally declared in 1870 as a doctrine of the Catholic Church, consulted with hundreds of bishops before defining in 1854 that the Blessed Virgin Mary was immaculately conceived. In the Bull Ineffabilis Deus declaring the dogma, he wrote: "We likewise inquired what the bishops themselves thought about defining this doctrine and what their wishes were in regard to making known with all possible solemnity our supreme judgment."
This would be a full-time job in itself. If there is anything at which the mass media excel, it would misinterpreting phrases and taking them out of context. (And, if that is not enough, they also make up things.)
Bookmarking, bolded and underlined for emphasis. Thanks for the information, gbcdoj.
Just to expand on what gbcdoj said, the Pope is only infallible when his teaching meets four conditions:
True. But the whole slant to the article was the aspect of the job that concentrates on vetting the speeches beforehand, as that in itself would be a full-time job. His role is to screen for content so the pope doesn't have to spend much time dealing with it. The pope has many other things to deal with besides writing speeches. He is only a man, and only has 24 hours in each day to deal with things, just like the rest of us. It's only natural that day-to-day things like screening speeches would be a delegated assignment. Or do non-Catholics ascribe to the pope supernatural powers over time and human endurance that we Catholics wouldn't dare to presume he has?
Infallibility is highly restricted (see Campion's response)in the times and circumstances under which it may be employed; no Catholic even claims that the situation is otherwise. Unless you are very much the "newbie" to this forum, you can't possibly glean from the Catholics here that we think every utterance of the pope is infallible. It's understood that there is disagreement between us about the nature and role of infallibility, but don't create mere straw-men to attack here. Read what we say, try to understand it. Go to other legitimate Catholic sources. But don't just throw empty arguments around , especially when they have already been refuted on this forum umpteen times already.
that was my impression too
gbcdoj: one way that the Holy Spirit preserves him from error in such definitions could certainly by influencing him to have his words reviewed by others.
shouldnt he be so full of the HS that additional influence from spiritually weaker outside sources be a detriment ?
They took a poll??
Almost as fun as when people such as yourself make ridiculous self-righteous comments like this without having any clue what others do with their time.
Shouldn't you be making deposits in the Treasury instead of withdrawals?
Someone who is really full of the Holy Spirit should be full of humility as well.
So does he take thier advice out of humility, or because its valued as learned ?
Youre answer makes it sound as if he takes it as a courtesy, as not to offend them --- Is that an accurate assessment of your thought, if not - please correct me
Exactly how and when does "supreme pontiff" become invoked, as opposed to being the "Bishop of Rome"? May I assume he has to have on his tallest, pointy hat, and be punched in to work? Check.
The teaching must be addressed to the whole church
He can't be talking in private, or to a limited group of people. Check.
It must concern a doctrine of faith or morals, not, e.g., a matter of church discipline or governance
How does this square with the whole dogma of "Papal Infallibility" itself, seeing as it speaks directly to church governance? Still, the princicple is understood so...check.
It must definitively teach that doctrine as something that must be held by all Catholics
At work we refer to that as a "minimum data set". Check.
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